tucked into the pancakes. 'Excellent breakfast, Molly. Leave here and come cook for me.'
'I'm actually a writer, not a cook.'
'The children's books.' His fork paused in midair. 'I've thought about writing a children's book…' He speared one of Lilly's uneaten pancakes from her plate. 'Probably not much of a market for my ideas.'
Lilly sniffed. 'Not if they involve nudes.'
Molly giggled.
Jenner shot her a quelling gaze.
'Sorry.' Molly bit her lip, then gave an unladylike snort.
Jenner's frown grew more ferocious. She was ready to apologize again when she spotted a small quiver at the corner of his mouth. So Liam Jenner wasn't quite the curmudgeon he pretended to be. This was getting more and more interesting.
He gestured toward Lilly's half-filled mug. 'You can take that with you. What's left of your breakfast, too. We need to go.'
'I never said I'd sit for you. I don't like you.'
'Nobody does. And of course you'll sit for me.' His voice deepened with sarcasm. 'People stand in line for the honor.'
'Paint Molly. Just look at those eyes.'
Jenner studied her. Molly blinked self-consciously. 'They're quite extraordinary,' he said. 'Her face is becoming interesting, but she hasn't lived in it long enough for it to be really fascinating.'
'Hey, don't talk about me when I'm listening.'
He lifted a dark eyebrow at Molly, then returned his attention to Lilly. 'Is it just me, or are you this stubborn with everyone?'
'I'm not being stubborn. I'm simply protecting your reputation for artistic infallibility. Perhaps if I were twenty again, I'd pose for you, but-'
'Why would I be interested in painting you when you were twenty?' He seemed genuinely perplexed.
'Oh, I think that's obvious,' Lilly said lightly.
He studied her for a moment, his expression difficult to read. Then he shook his head. 'Of course. Our national obsession with emaciation. Aren't you a little old to be still buying into that?'
Lilly planted a perfect smile on her face as she got up from her chair. 'Of course. Thank you for breakfast, Molly. Goodbye, Mr. Jenner.'
His gaze followed her as she swept from the kitchen. Molly wondered if he noticed the tension she was carrying in her shoulders.
She left him to his own thoughts while he finished his coffee. Finally he picked up the plates from the table and carried them over to the sink. 'Those were the best pancakes I've had in years. Tell me what I owe you.'
'Owe me?'
'This is a commercial establishment,' he reminded her.
'Oh, yeah. But there's absolutely no charge. It was my pleasure.'
'I appreciate it.' He turned to leave.
'Mr. Jenner.'
'Just Liam.'
She smiled. 'Come for breakfast anytime you want. You can slip in through the kitchen.'
He nodded slowly. 'Thanks. I just might do that.'
Chapter 14
'Come closer to the water, Daphne,' Benny said. 'I won't get you wet.'
'Any ideas for a new book?' Phoebe asked early the next afternoon over the phone.
An unwelcome subject, but since Molly had spent the first ten minutes of their conversation dodging Celia the Hen's nosy questions about Kevin, anything was an improvement. 'A few. But remember that
'SKIFSA is a joke.'
'Not a very funny one. I don't have a TV in the cottage. Have they popped up lately?'
'Last night. The new gay rights legislation in Congress has bought them a lot of local airtime.' Phoebe's hesitation wasn't a good sign. 'Moll, they mentioned Daphne again.'
'I can't believe it! Why are they doing this? It's not like I'm a big-time children's author.'
'This is Chicago, and you're the wife of the city's most famous quarterback. They're using that connection to get air-time. You
Molly didn't want to get into that discussion again. 'Temporarily. Next time remind me to find a publisher with a little backbone.' She wished she hadn't said that, since her publisher wasn't the only one who needed some backbone. Once again she reminded herself that she didn't have any choice, not if she wanted to pay her bills.
As if Phoebe had read her mind, she said, 'How are you doing for money? I know you haven't-'
'I'm doing fine. No problem.' As much as Molly loved her sister, she sometimes wished that everything Phoebe touched hadn't turned to gold. It made Molly feel so inadequate. Phoebe was wealthy, beautiful, and emotionally stable. Molly was poor, merely attractive, and she'd been a lot closer to a nervous breakdown than she'd ever admit. Phoebe had overcome enormous odds to become one of the most powerful owners in the NFL, but Molly couldn't even defend her fictional bunny from a real-life attack.
After she hung up, she chatted with some of the guests, then put fresh towels in the bathrooms while Kevin checked a retired couple from Cleveland into one of the cottages. Afterward she headed to her own cottage so she could change into the red suit he'd bought her and go for a swim.
As she pulled the two-piece suit from the bag, she discovered that the bottom wasn't quite a thong, but since it was held together by only a narrow tie on each side, it was a little skimpier than she liked. The top, however, had an underwire that pushed her up in all the right places, and Roo seemed to approve.
Although the air temperature was in the low eighties, the lake still hadn't warmed up, and the beach was deserted when she got there. She hissed against the cold as she waded in. Roo got his paws wet, then backed off and chased the herons instead. When she couldn't stand the torture any longer, she dove under.
She came up gasping, then began a vigorous sidestroke to keep warm as she caught sight of Kevin standing on the Common. Nine years of summer camp had taught her the importance of the buddy system, but he was near enough that he'd hear her yell if she started to drown.
She flipped to her back and swam for a while, avoiding the deeper water because, no matter what Kevin said, she was an extremely sensible person when it came to water safety. The next time she looked toward the Common, he was standing exactly where he'd been before.
He looked bored.
She waved her arm to catch his attention. He gave her a desultory wave back.
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.
She dove under and began to think.
Kevin watched Molly in the water while he waited for the garbage company to show up with the new Dumpster. He spotted a flash of crimson as she jackknifed, then dove beneath the surface. Buying that particular swimsuit for her had been a big mistake. It showed way too much of the tempting little body he was having an increasingly hard time ignoring. But the suit's color had caught his eye yesterday in the boutique because it was almost the same shade her hair had been the first time they'd met.
Her hair didn't look that way now. It had only been four days, but she was taking care of herself again, and her
